Advanced
Strategy: What you can learn from
a hair salon about winning and keeping
patients by Susan Keane Baker
Organizations that have created a culture
of service excellence, one where responsive
service is expected and routine, are challenged
by how to keep the gains they have made.
New ideas for taking a service excellence
program to the next level can often be found
by examining best practices in other industries.
For example, Amy E. Lemen wrote in the Austin
Business Journal about what the owners of
the Jackson Ruiz Salon in Texas did to create
consistently impeccable service for their
customers and extraordinary services for
their employees:
1) They eliminated tipping, often an uncomfortable
and annoying aspect of a salon visit. If
a tip is given, the money is spent on beauty
products that are given to the client, or
a credit is recorded for the next visit.
Their philosophy: “A referral is the
biggest tip a client can give us.”
What’s your major customer dissatisfier
and what will you do about it?
2) They offer hand massages to waiting
clients. What will you do this year to reduce
waiting/access times or to make the waiting
experience more pleasant?
3) They regularly invite guest speakers
to meet with their associates to share new
ideas. How do you plan to invest in your
associates this year?
4) Their top 100 clients receive a gift
package of a certificate for a service,
a gift certificate for a friend, and lunch
at a restaurant. How do you identify and
recognize your major referral sources?
5) They transferred responsibility for
answering the telephone away from the reception
desk, where clients are welcomed. Future
plans call for setting up a remote call
center so that no one in the salon is distracted
by phones ringing. Can you improve by reducing
noise levels and distractions? While you
and your staff may be immune from distractions,
patients rarely are.
6) Jackson Ruiz leaders articulate and
demonstrate their commitment to their values
often. They value integrity, education,
passion, balance and compassion. Select
ten employees at random and ask them to
talk with you about your organization’s
values. You’ll know immediately whether
you are articulating and demonstrating them
enough.
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